Table of Contents
Introduction
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This is a living document that we will update annually to reflect increasing awareness about how to describe our collections with greater conscientiousness for greater inclusivity. Significant changes made over time are documented in the Revision Log.
Contributors
Jessica Sedgwick Amber LaFountain (2020-2022)
Amber LaFountain Charlotte Lellman (2020-)
Charlotte Lellman Jessica Sedgwick (2020-2022)
Rebecca Thayer (2023-)
Guidelines
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As an undergraduate at the University of Minnesota he had a polio-like illness that required the use of a wheelchair. (Robert A. Good papers, processed by Bryan Sutherland and Christina M. Thompson, "required the use of a wheelchair" replaces the term "wheelchair-bound")
The subseries also contains records of people in custody and correspondence related to their activities and evaluations. (Albert Warren Stearns papers, processed by Bryan Sutherland; "people in custody" replaces the term "inmates")
In narrative description fields, do not use personal titles like Dr./Mr./Mrs./Ms./Mx., unless it would clarify the identity of someone whose first name is unknown. Please refer to the Style Guide for full Center practice on folder titles that include personal titles.
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It is the Center's standard descriptive practice to include historical medical terminology along with any equivalent contemporary terms in archival description of collections in order to support researcher discovery. However, given the [harmful, racist, etc] nature of the term "[XXXX]", the archivist has chosen to omit this term from the archival description in favor of the contemporary preferred term "[XXXX]". Please note that the term "[XXXX]" will appear in creator-supplied folder titles transcribed in this finding aid and in the papers themselves to refer to [list parallel terms]. Please contact chm@hms.harvard.edu with any questions or concerns.
Example:
From Biographical Note: His research interests included Down syndrome, congenital hypothyroidism, intellectual disabilities, neuropathology, and existential psychology and psychiatry. (Clemens E. Benda papers, revised by Charlotte Lellman)
In Processing Note: It is the Center's standard descriptive practice to include historical medical terminology along with any equivalent contemporary terms in archival description of collections in order to support researcher discovery. However, given the racist and ableist nature of the terms "mongolism," "cretinism," and "mental retardation," the archivist has chosen to omit these terms from the archival description in favor of the contemporary preferred terms "Down syndrome," "congenital hypothyroidism," and "intellectual disabilities," respectively. Please note that the terms "mongolism," "cretinism," and "mental retardation" will appear in creator-supplied folder titles transcribed in this finding aid and in the papers themselves to refer to Down syndrome, congenital hypothyroidism, and intellectual disabilities, respectively. Please contact chm@hms.harvard.edu with any questions or concerns.
Exceptions to this practice:
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